2012 sep 8
It's not the fix for parking woes
by Conrad Raj 04:45 AM Sep 07, 2012
While the latest curbs on "shoebox" apartments are not as restrictive as some earlier feared, regular interference with market forces is not altogether welcome or a good thing.
There are already caps on the number, height and plot ratio for any development plot. Now the proposed new rules, which come into effect on Nov 4, essentially limit the number of units in a development by applying a minimum average dwelling site on any plot. In non-landed private developments outside the central area, the average home size needs to be at least 70 sq m.
Although the Government has not set a minimum size for any dwelling, developers are probably expected to have to stick to the current minimum of 50 sq m for any dwelling unit.
In areas like Kovan and Joo Chiat/Jalan Eunos, which "face more severe infrastructure conditions", a more stringent cap is supposed to apply. The stringency is yet to be defined.
Shoeboxes have found a ready market among singles, childless couples, retirees and investors who find them more affordable than the regular-sized apartments.
In its circular on Tuesday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said: "However, others are concerned that shoebox units do not meet the needs of larger households with more than two members and are not conducive for couples to have children."
These people should not be buying shoebox developments in the first place.
However, by curbing such developments, one may be depriving those in need of such dwellings - such as singles, couples without children, retirees and investors, who love these units as they provide fairly good returns from being rented out, especially to single foreigners.
The URA said that while it "is of the view that having a certain proportion of shoebox units in our housing stock would help to cater to people with different needs and lifestyles ... there is a need to avoid a situation where the shoebox units form a disproportionately large portion of the total housing stock in Singapore".
It notes that some new housing developments consist "predominantly of shoebox units - as high as 50 per cent to 80 per cent".
The URA adds: "A large concentration of such developments can strain the local infrastructure as the number of housing units end up much higher than what was originally planned for."
In his blog, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan explained how the Telok Kurau area had experienced "rampant development of tiny shoebox units ... resulting in disamenties such as severe traffic congestion, shortage of car parks and double parking".
Are these problems due entirely to shoebox developments? What about the number of good and well-known eating places that have sprouted up all over the area's narrow streets and lanes, which attract people from all over the island?
And what about the density of the population in that area? Even if you have larger units, it all depends on the number of people living in each unit - you can have six people living in a 1,000 sq ft place, while a shoebox of 500 sq ft may only have two. So these are problems of density rather than the size of abodes.
The URA should insist, rather, on an adequate number of car parks in these shoebox developments that cater not only to residents but also visitors. Such a requirement, incidentally, should automatically help reduce the number of shoebox units in order to make space for parking lots.
NATURAL WANE IN DEMAND
Shoeboxes may just be a fad and, in time, when bigger private dwellings become more affordable, people may want to switch to larger homes.
The number of completed shoebox units is expected to rise fourfold from 2,400 units as at the end of last year to 11,000 units by the close of 2015. But that is less than 1 per cent of Singapore's 1.3 million or so housing units.
And analysts are already forecasting demand for shoeboxes to drop. Such units comprised 27 per cent of sales of private housing units in the first three months of the year but fell to 19 per cent in the second quarter. Perhaps, with the rapid rise in the number of Housing Board flats, demand for shoebox apartments may wane sooner than expected.
Given a choice, how many really want to live in a small, crowded apartment? But there are people who are ineligible for Housing Board flats, because of their age in the case of singles like myself (I now live in a spacious HDB apartment bought on the resale market), or because of income for many couples, especially young professionals caught in limbo between HDB income limits and high private housing prices.
For them, shoeboxes provide a welcome panacea.
Conrad Raj is TODAY's editor-at-large.
It's not the fix for parking woes
by Conrad Raj 04:45 AM Sep 07, 2012
While the latest curbs on "shoebox" apartments are not as restrictive as some earlier feared, regular interference with market forces is not altogether welcome or a good thing.
There are already caps on the number, height and plot ratio for any development plot. Now the proposed new rules, which come into effect on Nov 4, essentially limit the number of units in a development by applying a minimum average dwelling site on any plot. In non-landed private developments outside the central area, the average home size needs to be at least 70 sq m.
Although the Government has not set a minimum size for any dwelling, developers are probably expected to have to stick to the current minimum of 50 sq m for any dwelling unit.
In areas like Kovan and Joo Chiat/Jalan Eunos, which "face more severe infrastructure conditions", a more stringent cap is supposed to apply. The stringency is yet to be defined.
Shoeboxes have found a ready market among singles, childless couples, retirees and investors who find them more affordable than the regular-sized apartments.
In its circular on Tuesday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said: "However, others are concerned that shoebox units do not meet the needs of larger households with more than two members and are not conducive for couples to have children."
These people should not be buying shoebox developments in the first place.
However, by curbing such developments, one may be depriving those in need of such dwellings - such as singles, couples without children, retirees and investors, who love these units as they provide fairly good returns from being rented out, especially to single foreigners.
The URA said that while it "is of the view that having a certain proportion of shoebox units in our housing stock would help to cater to people with different needs and lifestyles ... there is a need to avoid a situation where the shoebox units form a disproportionately large portion of the total housing stock in Singapore".
It notes that some new housing developments consist "predominantly of shoebox units - as high as 50 per cent to 80 per cent".
The URA adds: "A large concentration of such developments can strain the local infrastructure as the number of housing units end up much higher than what was originally planned for."
In his blog, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan explained how the Telok Kurau area had experienced "rampant development of tiny shoebox units ... resulting in disamenties such as severe traffic congestion, shortage of car parks and double parking".
Are these problems due entirely to shoebox developments? What about the number of good and well-known eating places that have sprouted up all over the area's narrow streets and lanes, which attract people from all over the island?
And what about the density of the population in that area? Even if you have larger units, it all depends on the number of people living in each unit - you can have six people living in a 1,000 sq ft place, while a shoebox of 500 sq ft may only have two. So these are problems of density rather than the size of abodes.
The URA should insist, rather, on an adequate number of car parks in these shoebox developments that cater not only to residents but also visitors. Such a requirement, incidentally, should automatically help reduce the number of shoebox units in order to make space for parking lots.
NATURAL WANE IN DEMAND
Shoeboxes may just be a fad and, in time, when bigger private dwellings become more affordable, people may want to switch to larger homes.
The number of completed shoebox units is expected to rise fourfold from 2,400 units as at the end of last year to 11,000 units by the close of 2015. But that is less than 1 per cent of Singapore's 1.3 million or so housing units.
And analysts are already forecasting demand for shoeboxes to drop. Such units comprised 27 per cent of sales of private housing units in the first three months of the year but fell to 19 per cent in the second quarter. Perhaps, with the rapid rise in the number of Housing Board flats, demand for shoebox apartments may wane sooner than expected.
Given a choice, how many really want to live in a small, crowded apartment? But there are people who are ineligible for Housing Board flats, because of their age in the case of singles like myself (I now live in a spacious HDB apartment bought on the resale market), or because of income for many couples, especially young professionals caught in limbo between HDB income limits and high private housing prices.
For them, shoeboxes provide a welcome panacea.
Conrad Raj is TODAY's editor-at-large.
Comments
Post a Comment